9th Welsh whereabouts

[Julian Whippy]

Any one help with the early movements from Blighty to France of the 9th Battalion

Welsh Regt. ie date to france first billets and engagements. 1915 i think.

Hope so, cheers

Julian

[Glosters]

From 'British Regiments 1914-18' by Brig. E.A. James

The Welsh Regiment

9th (Service) Battalion

Formed at Cardiff Sept. 1914. To Salisbury Plain, 58th Brigade, 19th Division. To Basingstoke Nov. 1914 in billets. Jan. 1915 to Weston-super-Mare. May 1915 Perham Down. July 1915 landed at Havre, France.

From 'The 19th Division 1914-18' by E. Wyrall

"The General Staff Diary sums up the arrival and concentration of the 19th Division in the following terms:

'Tilcques, 21st (July). Whole Division concentrated near St. Omer; 23rd. Moved to area between Hazebrouck and St. Omer; 24th. Divison moved to area Aires - St. Venant - Busnes - St. Hilaire, and came under Indian Corps, First Army, HQ at Norrent Fontes; 25th. HQ moved to Busnes Chateau by orders from Indian Corps.

27th. Orders to move, between 29th and 31st, to new billeting area round Merville, in Corps Reserve. While there each brigade will go into the trenches with the Meerut or Lahore Divisions to get experience of the front line which they will eventually have to take over. Classes of instruction in hand grenades and trench-mortar work will be held...'

By the end of July 58th Brigade had moved to an area between Le Sart and Haverskerque..... Battalions of the 58th Bde began their trench instruction about the middle of August.

29th August the 58th Brigade moved forward and began the relief of troops of the 7th Division at nightfall on the 30th, the 9th Cheshires taking over the right, the 9th Royal Welch Fusiliers the centre, and the 6th Wiltshires the left-subsectors of the brigade front; the 9th Welch in reserve."

The first action of the Division was the Battle of Loos. On 25 Sept. 1915 the the 9th Welch were one of the assaulting battalions.

"At 6.30 am word was given to order the assautling troops to advance, and a sheaf of rockets burst in the sky. Lt-Col. Young, commanding the 9th Welch, gave the order to advance. He states of his officers and men "that nothing could have exceeded the gallantry of the whole battalion." They went forward splendidly, though already having suffered from the enemy's guns in the congested and narrow trenches before the assault began. Furious machine gun and rifle fire met that advance, and within 15 minutes 12 officers, 4 company sergeant-majors and approx. 300 other ranks had been killed or wounded. No Man's Land became a dreadful place - full of dead and dying..."

Steve

[Julian Whippy]

THANKS STEVE THAT REALLY IS GREAT. YOU OBVIOUSLY TOOK SOME TIME TO WRITE THAT ALL OUT! MUCH APRECIATED. SO THEY WERE THE 19TH BITTERFLY DIV , STOPPED AT THEIR MEMORIAL THIS YEAR NEAR YPRES, OOSTAVERNE I THINK IT WAS.

JULIAN